"The Morning Briefing" is SmartPlanet's daily roundup of must-read stories from the web. This morning we're reading about social media's repercussions for business.

1.) Social media investment threatens to overtake paid searches among SMEs. A report from Borrell Associates suggests that between 45 and 70 per cent of small businesses already have a presence on social media networks. Projected spend on marketing in 2012 revealed that social media promotion has overtaken directory listings, banner adverts, video streaming and sponsorship. There is an expectation that social media will overtake SEO and keyword purchase in 2012.

2.) At what point does an individual's tweets become company property? In the aftermath of a pending lawsuit concerning Noah Kravitz and Phonedog, the law and boundaries concerning social media and personal property have become exposed as undefined. Acceptable employee use of social media accounts belonging to businesses needs to become clearer, and businesses need to consider putting relevant regulations in place.

3.) Experts predict a surge of social network training within business. According to commercial and technical experts, 2012 is going to be the 'watershed' year for trade to implement effective social networking. Businesses that invest in an effective training strategy are more likely to attract quality leads and communicate profitably with new and existing customers.

4.) The beginner's guide to marketing via social media. Cindy Ratzlaff writes on how businesses can improve their marketing strategy via implementing the wide range of tools now available online. Strategies include blogging and making sure they are 'keyword rich' to gain the best response possible through search engines, linking this content to Facebook pages and Twitter, and uploading material through YouTube's streaming service.

5.) How to sell anything through social media campaigns. An in-depth discussion of how to secure business leads through social networks including Twitter, Google+ and Facebook. Patience is key to a successful media campaign - and it is more complex than simply sending a message out in to the Twitterverse. Targeting particular online groups, making the process interactive and proving your expertise are all crucial elements.

Charlie Osborne, a medical anthropologist who studied at the University of Kent, UK, is a journalist, freelance photographer and former teacher.
She has spent years travelling and working across Europe and the Middle East as a teacher, and has been involved in the running of businesses ranging from media and events to B2B sales. Charli...
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